Effective communication is the most important tool for First Nations and their police officers
Communication most effective tool in police kit
Doug Cuthand, Special to The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, September 05, 2008
This year has been particularly difficult for Saskatchewan's aboriginal people and police services. There have been eight individuals shot this year by police, with five fatalities and three shootings resulting in serious injuries.
Of the eight incidents, the RCMP was involved in five, the Saskatoon Police Service in two and the Regina Police Service involved in the other.
Shootings by police create an immediate, visceral reaction among the family and friends of the persons shot, and rightfully so. These people have lost someone close to them and they want answers. What may have appeared as a simple issue spiralled out of control to leave a loved one dead or seriously hurt.
But before people jump to any conclusions, each case must be looked at individually. In the case of the shootings in Saskatchewan, some have involved domestic disputes, criminal activity or resisting arrest. Each case has a different set of facts and must be treated separately.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is proposing a program that would assist police officers to reach a peaceful end to standoffs and calm down potentially explosive situations. The FSIN met recently with federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and discussed the formation of a program that would have peacekeepers working with police to negotiate and defuse dangerous situations.
Any police officer will tell you that the calls he or she fears the most involve domestic disputes. These are unpredictable and can boil over easily. When a police officer attends such a call in a rural area, the danger increases.
If a peacekeeper is involved in such a case, the perpetrator has someone from the local community whom he or she knows. A peacekeeper can approach the problem in a more personal and knowledgeable way than can an outsider. Police are trained to enforce the law, while a peacekeeper is trained to defuse a situation. The law could be applied later.
The File Hills Fort Qu'Appelle Tribal Council currently has a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) unit that is brought in to assist police when dealing with potentially dangerous situations. The FSIN is reviewing this program along with the peacekeeper idea, and is recommending that a CISM unit be made available to all tribal councils.
This is not a simple issue that has a quick answer. Attitudes must change on all sides.
First, our people must begin to place more faith in law enforcement agencies. Half the First Nations population is under the age of 20 -- the age group, regardless of racial or ethnic background, that tends most to get in trouble with the law. First Nations people are no different.
Many of today's young people are streetwise, exposed to gang activity and have access to weapons that were unattainable a few years ago. Many are also frustrated by under-education and unemployment. As a result, attitudes toward authority have hardened.
Bluntly put, our people fear the police, who are considered outsiders who come to make arrests when there is trouble. Criminals are harboured because the fear of reprisal is greater than the reach of the law. Our people need to see the police as an asset to the community.
Our people currently are the largest group when it comes to being victims of crime.
In some communities, gangs and less organized groups of young people terrorize reserves and neighborhoods. Fear of gang violence and gang vengeance against those who testify make many of our people afraid to seek help from law enforcement agencies.
First Nations people need to turn to law enforcement authorities and work with them to return order to our communities, both urban and rural. This is another role the peacekeepers can fill by building strong bridges between the police forces and the community.
According to FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph, "Everybody needs to be a part of the plan. Police can't do everything. We need to find solutions that will address alcohol and drug dependency, high rates of unemployment . . . the list goes on."
Police forces also need to review their available options. Officers today are more heavily armed than ever, and thus tend to rely less on the power of negotiation. Firearms and the police baton are now augmented by pepper spray, mace and the infamous Taser.
The electroshock weapons have come under attack for their indiscriminate use by police, but serve as a useful alternative to a conventional firearm at close quarters. The problem with Tasers is that some officers have used them like a police baton rather than as a serious weapon. A Taser is not a stock prod and people are not cattle.
I realize that police should be protected and have access to new technology, but effective communication still remains the best tool in the possession of any police officer.
Police services and band councils, too, need to communicate regularly. Police officers should be able to take ownership of a community and protect its people. This comes through close contact, personal relationships with community leaders and involvement in community affairs. They can then rightly be seen as an asset to the community.